『3, 2, 1, fire! Next timing, release the wrecking ball! 3, 2, 1, release!』

Under Etowa's command, the ballista bolts sliced through the air and the wrecking ball roared. A huge skeletal monster shattered into pieces.

『Next one's out! It's a Great Ape! Close the center and fire the ballista in five seconds! ...3, 2, 1, fire! Hit confirmed. Close the west and lure it to the east!』

As instructed, the ballista was fired, piercing the gorilla-type monster that was charging toward us with perfect timing. Immediately, a golem closed the west gate as ordered, and the wounded gorilla, now enraged, turned toward me.

I took it down with my magic sword. Beast-types have short reach, making them easy targets for me after all the training I'd done against Shello-san.

Of course, I think the properties of the magic sword and my own Vocation played a big part in this. I guess I didn't end up with the mysterious Vocation "Fourth Magic Sword User: The Beast Slayer" for nothing.

Since I was in charge of the "living" enemies, I was handling the eastern side. It was just me and Hetty-san over here. Hetty-san helped me if I was in a pinch, but otherwise, I was the one fighting, and I was managing quite well.

On the western side were the knight trio: Marina, Rebecca-san, and Ion. Shello-san held the center alone. Priestess-chan was also in the center, her job being to run between the east and west depending on the battle situation.

This formation was Etowa's proposal.

"The Boss can absorb stamina from living monsters. Current trends show that 50% of the monsters are living, so it would be more efficient to let the Boss defeat them whenever possible!"

Etowa had designed the strategy with a clear focus on efficiency.

The reason Shello-san was in the center was that he was the most versatile fighter. Among us, he had the highest skill in hitting flying monsters with arrows, and he fought steadily without any signs of danger.

Furthermore, many of the monsters sent through the center were large-scale, making Shello-san the best fit for the matchup. Occasionally, light-footed monsters that leaped over the walls were struck down by either Shello-san or Shamash-san.

『Next. A-A Bone Dragon! It's huge! Hurry, close the side paths and ready the wrecking ball! Rebecca-san and Marina-san, move to the center. Cooperate with Shello-san; the three of you will handle its extermination. While you're at it, Boss and Hetty-san will handle any other monsters on the east side!』

Etowa's commands flew.

Looking ahead, a massive dragon-shaped skeleton, perhaps seven meters long, was clattering down the path. It was 1:00 PM—the lunchtime "big fish," so to speak.

『Ready the wrecking ball! 3, 2, 1, release! A hit! ...Ah, it's still alive! Please prepare for combat!』

The Bone Dragon, having survived the wrecking ball, approached Shello-san with its weapons drawn, a sound like grinding bones echoing in the air. Seeing as it didn't die from a single hit of the wrecking ball, it might have been stronger than yesterday's Living Statue... it was certainly more agile.

From this position, I had a clear view of everyone fighting. Perhaps because a powerful monster had appeared, no other monsters spawned for a while, so Hetty-san and I were in spectator mode. I felt like going to help, but I couldn't leave my post.

"Becky's sword is effective against dragons, isn't it?"

Hetty-san asked casually.

I noticed that the sword would glow only when Rebecca-san attacked, and the amount of light shards scattering was far greater, so it was easy to guess she was dealing the most damage.

"That's right. It's supposedly a Dragonslayer Holy Sword. Well, Etowa knew that, which is why she called Rebecca-san to the center."

Rebecca-san, Shello-san, and Marina dodged the Bone Dragon's tail swipes, bites, and body slams with ease, landing precise hits. They were a group that had trained extensively in formations. Their movements were perfectly synced, their fighting style stable.

While Shello-san gives the impression of a straightforward berserker, he actually fought very cleverly. That was likely the result of the training he received from the former mercenary leader, Isaac-shi.

"Even so, that girl—Etowa is amazing. This is her first time commanding, isn't it?"

Hetty-san said admiringly.

"It's her first time in actual combat. Well, she did say she wanted to be a strategist, and I gave her some lectures. You were also asked questions by her occasionally, weren't you, Hetty-san?"

"Yes. I thought she was a very sharp child, but I didn't expect this much."

"I'm surprised too. It's difficult to judge what kind of monster it is just by its appearance and give orders instantly. If you hesitate, they'll be right in front of you in no time."

In fact, the moment a monster emerged from the forest, Etowa judged what to do and gave orders instantly. It was something you couldn't do unless you had a firm grasp of the entire situation.

A person capable of this role is rare. Even I could probably do it, but hesitation would surely have crept in somewhere. In that regard, Etowa was mathematical—or rather, she gave orders based on rational judgment, so there was no hesitation. She didn't even show me any special treatment just because I was her boss, which was actually a relief.

"Ah, they took it down."

The Bone Dragon battle ended with Rebecca-san's jumping thrust.

It was supposed to be a near-boss-level monster, but I guess that was the power of the Dragonslayer Holy Sword. It seems weapon performance makes a huge difference in this world. Truly a former game.

『The Bone Dragon is down! Statistically, the next monster will likely be a beast-type. Boss, please be ready!』

Etowa's instruction flew, and indeed, the next monster was a Hellhound.

The golem opened the east corridor.

I cut down the charging Hellhound with the magic sword.

Beast-types have simple patterns and few attack methods, making them easy opponents in this situation. Plus, when the magic sword's absorption skill triggered, it recovered my stamina—killing two birds with one stone.

"Priestess-sama, what's the situation at the other spots?"

I temporarily left things to Hetty-san to check the status of the battle.

The movements of the other spots were also important. We couldn't spare any more people, but depending on the situation, we might have needed to lend out some Spirit Stones.

"The spot that received people from here has recovered, thank goodness. The others... they seem to be managing, though it's barely."

There was a dark shadow in the Priestess-chan's tone when she said "barely".

Perhaps some people had already died. Even if not, there were surely some seriously injured. I didn't know the actual combat strength of the other spots, but in terms of numbers, they should have had dozens of times more people than we did.

However, they were ultimately just a disorganized mob. If powerful monsters spawned, they could probably only defeat them through a muddy war of attrition. They were likely using a tactic close to a "zombie attack" using Spirit Stones. Or rather, there was probably no other effective way.

"...If you can return them later, I don't mind lending some Spirit Stones. Even if we use some later today, we probably won't even use ten. Actually, there's a chance we won't use a single one."

There was also the portion to send to the former mercenaries. That was the priority. But right now, I had 124 Spirit Stones on hand. You could say it was my entire fortune, but I had no problem lending them to the Priestess-chan. Strictly speaking, it was a loan to the city of Erishe or the Hunters' Guild.

"Thank you, Jirou-san. We've released more stones from Erishe's vault today, so we should be okay... but since they are being used at such a high pace, we might need to borrow some on the third day. Erishe should have a decent stockpile of Spirit Stones, but at this rate..."

Spirit Stones are items known as Stones of Miracles, but they are also money itself. Once used, they don't circulate in the economy like money; they are simply consumed and gone. In that sense, it's quite dangerous.

But desperate times call for desperate measures. If we were on the brink of being destroyed by the Hitotsuzuki, we had no choice but to use them.

"Well, anyway, we just have to get through today... that's all."

For the time being, there was nothing more we could do. We were really doing our best with a small number of people here. Honestly, we were in a position where we should have been receiving more support.

* * *

『Next, they're out! Ah... it's a skeleton squad! Six in total! I'm diverting them to the West. Marina-san, prepare Lightning Fountain. Use it now!』

Etowa shouted.

Since the eastern path was sealed, I couldn't see clearly, but six of them spawning simultaneously was rare.

'Lightning Fountain' is a unique skill inherent to Marina's weapon—an all-encompassing electrical area-of-effect attack.

The fact that Etowa was finally calling for the zap attack meant the situation must have looked formidable from her vantage point. If I recalled, that skill had a cooldown of once every 100 minutes. Choosing when to trigger it was a difficult call.

"Ah, those are Party Monsters. They spawn rarely during a Hitotsuzuki. Unlike other monsters, they have excellent teamwork, making them very difficult to take down."

Hetty-san explained.

I ran to the lookout tower where Etowa was stationed. Six skeletal monsters were advancing cautiously in a tight formation. A suspicious black aura rose from every single one of them, looking truly ominous.

There was a Skull Fighter equipped with heavy armor and an axe. A Skull Lord in white armor with a sword. A Skull Samurai with Japanese-style armor and a katana. A Skull Ninja dressed in black garb. A Skull Priest wearing vestments. And one wearing a jet-black, somewhat opulent robe—

Wait... The aura coming off that last one was on a completely different level.

Isn't that a Lich...?

This wasn't some lightweight "Skull Wizard" type... One of them was emitting a literal pillar of pitch-black aura!

"Etowa! Signal them to watch out for the one in the back! Priestess-sama, prepare a magic barrier! Tell them to use Spirit Stones effectively as needed!"

『Understood!』

Etowa relayed the orders via walkie-talkie.

On the other side were Marina, Rebecca-san, Ion, and Priestess-chan.

The moment the monsters entered range, Marina swung down her war hammer, which was now wreathed in electricity. A shower of brilliant lightning rained down upon the monsters.

"W-Wha!?"

I thought the strike would incapacitate them instantly, but that priest in the vestments instantly deployed a black barrier, deflecting the shock away from the three rear-guard monsters.

With a fluid movement like shifting shadows, the skeleton ninja crept up on Ion.

The front-line skeleton warriors were temporarily incapacitated by the lightning. They needed to be smashed during this opening, or they'd revive eventually, but the problem was the Lich.

We had to shatter them now before they recovered, but the real problem was the Lich. It was swelling with a jet-black aura, radiating a purely dangerous vibe.

I considered sending Shello-san or Shamash-san to reinforce them, but we had to be ready for the next spawn. Calling Ai-chan was an option, but once summoned, she can't be called again for a while. Other summons wouldn't be very helpful here, and without the golems, we couldn't use the wrecking ball.

A wrong move, depending on spawns, could lead to a chain collapse like a chess endgame. We just had to trust them to hold the line.

Meanwhile, the skeleton ninja flashed its blade at Ion. She dodged by a hair and counterattacked, but the ninja moved like it was sinking into the shadows, effortlessly evading her.

Rebecca-san and Marina prioritized the Lich, sprinting toward it. Rebecca-san thrust her holy sword forward as if putting her whole weight behind it.

But—

"Short Teleport!?"

Just before the strike connected, the Lich vanished, reappearing about ten meters away. It pressed its hands together, kneading a black flame into a dense, concentrated mass. Ion was already occupied dealing with the Skull Ninja.

Furthermore, the Skull Priest began chanting a spell over the paralyzed warriors, attempting to heal them.

The Lich thrust its hands forward, its jaw clattering as if whispering the name of a curse. In that split second, an arrow pierced the Lich's head, sending shards of light flying. Shello-san had landed a hit from a considerable distance.

However, the Lich's incantation didn't stop. It merely cast a fleeting glance toward Shello-san, as if the arrow were beneath its notice.

A magic-using monster. I had considered the possibility, of course. But monsters, by their nature, usually give off a "stupid" impression, so I can't deny our countermeasures were insufficient. We had focused on the offense, perhaps neglecting the defense.

A coiled serpent of pitch-black flame swirled, and the magic power, having swelled to its peak, was launched toward where Marina and Rebecca-san stood.

An undulating great serpent of fire. Unlike physical attacks, there was no way to fully block this. To make matters worse, both Marina and Rebecca-san were using two-handed weapons and didn't even have shields.

"Marina! Rebecca-san!"

I shouted instinctively.

The two were attempting to dodge, but the flame was massive—nearly three meters in diameter. They wouldn't be able to clear it in time. I reflexively averted my eyes.

BASH!

At the sound, I opened my eyes to see the fire stopped just before hitting them, blocked by a shimmering wall of light. A shield of light that didn't even budge against the roaring jet of flame.

"Thank goodness, Priestess-chan..."

It was her barrier magic. Since she was clutching a Spirit Stone in her hand, she must have used a high-tier defensive spell.

That was a three-million-yen barrier right there.

Rebecca-san and Marina didn't miss the opening. With a mutual nod, Rebecca-san sprinted toward the Lich while Marina charged the Priest.

The Lich's fire magic was still active; it might have been the kind of spell that continued to spray flame for a set duration once cast. Rebecca-san circled the fire and closed in on the immobile Lich, raining consecutive strikes from her holy sword upon it.

Marina swung her massive war hammer, crushing the Skull Priest mid-chant and then methodically pulverizing the recovering bone warriors like she was pounding rice cakes. As expected of a weapon dropped from a boss, Marina's hammer—perhaps due to type-effectiveness—was devastating against skeletal monsters.

Ion was still locked in a duel with the Skull Ninja. She was already covered in nicks and bleeding quite a bit. Rebecca-san, having finished her fight, joined in and helped finish the ninja off. The Skull Ninja was a tricky opponent, but it was no match for a two-on-one.

"We... managed. Individually they aren't much, but they're a pain when they have numbers."

Ion's wounds were instantly healed by the Priestess-chan's spirit magic. However, since the magic doesn't replace lost blood, I ordered Ion to take a rest. Worst case, I could have used Diana's super-recovery magic (Time Reversal), but I judged it wasn't necessary yet.

"A single powerful enemy is scary, but a group of enemies with decent strength is even scarier. Ah, Boss, the next one is spawning, so please get back to your post. There are only three hours left. Even more powerful monsters might show up."

"On it."

And so, despite the harsh combat, our thorough preparation for skeletal monsters paid off. We didn't face any significant crises until the Last Monster appeared just before 5:00 PM.

Then, the monster spawns suddenly cut off.

Finally, the Last Monster of the second day was about to emerge.